Former Manchester City hero Shaun Goater has hailed Bernardo Silva’s impact, calling the Portuguese “another David Silva”.
Silva once again impressed with another standout display during the 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday, having claimed the club’s player of the month award for September.
The 27-year-old opened the scoring against the Clarets, and earned top marks for his energetic display.
And his performance didn’t go unnoticed by Goater, who was full of praise for his performance, and likened him to another City legend and one of Silva’s former team-mates.
“All his qualities… You can imagine him in Rondos and drills because he is another David Silva,” Goater told the club's website.
“He’s that sort of player you don’t want to be chasing when you don’t have the ball because of his low centre of gravity and his ability to go left or right.
“There was a stage in the game where one of the Burnley lads was chasing him and it reminded me of school, when you were chasing someone and then they go left, then right and it's: ‘See you later!’
“He’s got the ball and he goes in these 360 spins and you end up realising: ‘Oh, he’s now going forward and I thought I was chasing him back!’
“He has such great ability dribbling in small little areas, little pockets – and his desire to do the press…
“He runs from the halfway line to the goalkeeper inside his box – and he’s full-on sprinting; not jogging – to put that press on!
“This is him from start to finish. He is a joy for us as fans and you know Pep also enjoys it.”
Goater added: “He has started so brilliantly with his energy. I’m so glad we’re starting to see him play, though we’re not surprised in what he does. He’s a quality player.
“That energy we see in midfield, I don’t think you’ll find much better in terms of the quality of service, the quality of energy – being able to press – and the ability to keep possession.
“It’s like a perfect midfield.”
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